From time to time, Sam Houston State head coach Willie Fritz
has to ask his players to trust him and take a leap of faith that it will all
work out in the end. On Tuesday, Fritz took a leap of his own.

With the help of Lt. Col. David Yebra of the Sam Houston
State department of military science (ROTC), along with a group of others from
SHSU, Fritz got the rare opportunity to sky dive with the Golden Knights, the
United States Army Parachute team (video at bottom of story).

“I was asked if I was interested in doing something like
this by Lt. Col. Yebra and of course I said yes to the opportunity to jump with
the best skydiving group in the world,” Fritz said. “It is a once in a lifetime
opportunity.”

One of the best aspects of Fritz’s coaching style is his
ability to lead by example. And while no players were there to watch it, he
felt like it was important for his team for him to make this kind of jump.

“One of the things I talk to our players about is
challenging themselves and experiencing new things,” Fritz said. “Sometimes as
a leader, as a player, as a coach, you have to do things you are uncomfortable
with and learn from it.”

While admittedly nervous, Fritz said he knew he was in safe
hands. It was a tandem jump and the person he was diving with had more than
3,200 jumps under his belt, including one with Karl Malone.

“It was definitely a rush, no doubt about it. I just suggest
anyone who has a chance, to go up and do it,” Fritz said. “There is no safer
group than the Golden Knights.”

Fritz showed the video of the jump in a team meeting on
Wednesday to let the players get a feel for his experience.

“I told the guys I had made a deal for the Golden Knights to
come up here and have the team jump,” he laughed. “I couldn’t keep the joke
going very long. There were some nervous faces in the room.”

After a 14-1 season last year that ended with a loss in the
FCS national championship game in Frisco, the Bearkats just put the wraps on
spring camp. While the talk going into next season is about the Bearkats
talented running game, Fritz may have proved they have a pretty formidable aerial
attack as well.